Holodeck is based on the idea of building a floor surface on the matrix of Moxel’s that user could be standing on.

Moxel consists of the rod that could be raised and lowered, and ball on top on it which frictiion could be controlled with the brake. This allows for the simulation of how “slippery” is upper surface of the moxel.

rod

By arranging moxels in the matrix (as seen on the left image below), we can simulate physical deformation of the floor surfaces.Note that somewhat better coverage can be achived with “shifted” matrix, as shown on the right side:

plate     shifted